Known as a function which enables a user to use all the allowed functions only by one time authentication is single sign-on (hereinafter simply referred to as SSO). In a case, for example, where a terminal connected to a network is used, while such a situation possibly occurs that a user is forced to input his/her ID and password many times such as each time at the start-up of the terminal, at the time of connection to a LAN (Local Area Network), at the time of connection to a server and at the start-up of an application of the server, the SSO is the function of saving user's labor required in such a situation and skipping all the user authentications once he/she is authenticated.
Proposed in Patent Literature 1, for example, are an SSO authentication method which realizes SSO without requiring an authentication state management server that executes centralized management of an authentication condition, thereby mitigating system setting up costs and operation management costs, and a system thereof.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-335239.
On the other hand, known is a server system formed of a symmetric multiple processor (SMP) in which with a plurality of baseboard management controllers (hereinafter, referred to as a BMC board) mounted in a cell box including a CPU module including a memory and an input/output module, a BMC firmware operable on a BMC and a Web server operable on a BMC operate on the BMC board.
In the above-described server system, for system management software of a host device or a client terminal connected via a network to access a BMC board in charge of platform management, log-in (authentication) to the BMC is required. In this case, in a partition system in which a cell box is divided into partitions or which is formed of a plurality of cell boxes, access authentication is required for each BMC board.
In a case where a Web client makes a hyperlink access by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) bridging over Web servers equipped with basic authentication, each access to each Web server needs log-in (authentication). The above-described Patent Literature 1 lacks a countermeasure against it.